


Gerard Always Liked Super Hero Comics Anyway

by Merkey666



Series: X-Men Au [1]
Category: A couple other bands, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, You can probably guess which
Genre: And other fun things, Attempted Murder, Fights, Government Experimentation, I'm putting as many things in tags as possible so that maybe someone will read this, Injury, Kidnapping, Kissing, Mind Control, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder, Mutant Powers, Slow Burn, Some sexual moments :/, Terrible Gen z humor that I alone find funny, X-Men AU - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-05-29 11:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15072458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merkey666/pseuds/Merkey666
Summary: Gerard and Mikey are whisked off to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a school for mutants to learn and be safe, only to find that they will do NEITHER of those things. As per usual.





	1. Just Like a Shitty Horror Film

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm trying my best to update as quickly as possible, so show me some support if you want more chapters :) thank you for reading!!

“So, how’s college been, Gerard?” _Better, now that I’ve got a hold on the voices in my head._ I didn't say that.

“Fine. I’m stretched pretty thin with everything, but I didn’t expect much else,” I replied, not looking up from my noticeably untouched mount of food on my plate. “Please don’t ask me if I have a girlfriend.”

“Wasn’t aware that was a possibility,” my brother snickered.

_Do you want to keep that food in your stomach tonight, Mikey?_

_Yes._

_Interesting. Watch your mouth._

Mikey pursed his lips and slouched down in his chair, pretending he hadn’t heard anything I’d just said to him. In reality, he hadn’t, because I never said a single word out loud. Everything just went from my brain, to his. That’s how telepathy works, or so we thought. Mikey started up a new conversation with our mom. My parents listened to him genuinely and carefully, so while he held their attention, I slipped away.

_Frank?_

There was quiet on the line for a second, and I remember feeling the weight of disappointment bear down on me. I really needed an escape, for just a few minutes. All of the sudden, I saw myself in a dark room, and submerged myself in the feeling.

Everything around me was dark, not black, but dark, very, very dark. As though there were no edges or corners to the room, or whatever sort of space I was in. I turned to the right, and all along the wall was a television, dark for the moment. My impatience grew, want tugging at my stomach. The butterflies in there were going absolutely nuts. A loud crackle split my ear drums, and the space flooded with light.

 _Gee?_ appeared on the screen.

 _Yeah. Hey._ My words showed up as the first words faded. My words disappeared after a moment, leaving me to stare at a blank white screen. Then it changed, dissipating into pixels and disappearing completely. Behind where the screen had floated, stood another person, and he was smiling at me.

I ran to him and embraced him as tightly as I could manage, because even though he wasn’t really there with me, I could almost feel the heat he gave off if I squeezed hard enough.

“Gerard? What are you smiling about?” I snapped back into reality, blinking the illusion out of my eyes.

“Just thinking about all the procrastination I’m gonna get to do.”

“Sounds like a college student,” my mother chuckled. She patted my arm and turned her attention back to Mikey, who was side-eyeing me despite being in the middle of storytelling.

 _Frank?_ he asked, now standing parallel to Frank in the dream world. Somehow Mikey seemed unable to see Frank.

I nodded to Mikey, who turned back to my mom and phased out of the dream world. He had been getting really quite good at alternating between talking out loud and talking telepathically. (We called it “talking in loud”). It hadn’t been too long since I was the crazy one with a voice in my head and he had been only too close to telling our parents. It felt like a strange thing to think about as I watched him corral mom and dad’s attention in order for me to have some time with Frank.

For a moment, I couldn’t focus. I kept slipping into other people’s minds, like I was traveling through a wormhole. Vertigo hit me like a truck, and I was three seconds away from backing out when everything stopped. And I stepped back into the dream world with Frank. The best way I’d found to describe this occurrence was like a radio frequency. Even when it’s there, sometimes the person can’t seem to land on the right frequency. Their hand keeps twitching before they can let go. It’s pretty fucking annoying sometimes, I’ve gotta say.

While I had the right frequency for the moment, I shut my eyes and let the space unfold before me.

Frank stood a few paces ahead, a sideways smile on his face and a slight tilt in his head, making him look quirky. His hands were tucked behind his back, but he reached up with them to touch my face when I got within kissing distance.

 _Been eating turkey?_ he asked.

I laughed. _Oh, shit, sorry about that. Forgot that your ass is vegetarian._

_Not just my ass, Gerard._

I rolled my eyes. Shall we sit? I asked, taking the conversation in a new direction asthe low down mist swirled into upright chairs and a table. That part of the whole dream world I hadn’t quite figured out. It just sort of did that from time to time, whenever the feeling was right.

Frank took a seat and put his elbows on the table, smiling up at me. He swung his feet like a little kid, and looked around. He always took a few seconds to register this space, because I think it scared him a little. While he did his own thing, I scrambled for words. Talking to him was so easy once it got going.

 _How’s life been?_ I asked.

_The usual. College isn’t fun, but the year is halfway over. Be out in a few months._

_If you pass._

_Don’t be a shit head, Gerard._

_Sorry. Just trying to deflect my own worries._

_I get it. But don’t worry, everyone is going to pass. And then we’ll move on, and get jobs and-_ he paused, as though he’d just thought of something that made all of those things impossible. Perhaps, the fact that we’re mutants with superhuman abilities and the general populous wants to record our information like lab rats, or, you know, kill us. Something like that could get in the way. 

_Don’t think like that, he said, reading my mind. In this dream scape, thinking was difficult because I didn’t know which thoughts he could hear, and which he could not._

_I’m just getting really sick of being discriminated against when I, personally, have done nothing wrong. I never robbed a bank because I got the bank codes from a security guard’s brain!_

_That’s is how history goes._

_History is shitty._

_I’m pretty aware of that, Gee._

I sighed deeply and leaned back in my chair, looking for a window I could sullenly stare out of. Unsurprisingly, I was met with only the black mist that surrounded us. I heard a crackle and turned to see Frank disappear for a second, but with another burst of static he reappeared. 

_So,_ I began, _what are you supposed to be doing right now?_

_A take-home final._

_Shit, really? Want some help?_ I asked, standing up and bolting around the table to look over his shoulder. On the surface of the table, the mist cleared and I saw the work fold out to cover the space. Most of the space was taken up my little map fragments and the like, as well as a computer and a notepad with barely legible handwriting on it. 

_What sort of class is this for?_  
_No clue. Also, if you’re so adamant that mutant kind will do absolutely no harm, then why are you offering to help me cheat on my final? Don’t you want me to graduate?_ he teased. 

_I was only trying- never mind. Go on, do your best. I’ll return to my Christmas dinner with my family, and let you do your homework so we can grow up and get jobs and live happily ever after, with our mutant registration cards pinned to our foreheads._

_I didn’t peg you to be the type to rebel against the government. That seems more like my thing._

_Learned it from the best. I winked._

Frank chuckled and looked back down at the table, where the smoke was covering up his work. He sat back and watched it dissolve. I thought that for a second we could go back to being high school seniors who didn’t really know that much about the world, and believed they had good future prospects, but his expression hardened and I knew that chance was blown. 

_Gerard, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you._ Great. My absolute least favorite phrase. 

_Go on…_

He pursed his lips and paused for a few seconds. _It’s about the future. This might be off character of me to ask, or it might be spot-on, who knows, but… I waited. I was introduced to someone the other day, and he said he understood my fears regarding the MRAA._

Ah, yes. The pain in the ass to end all other pains in asses. The Mutant Registration and Authorization Act. Because apparently, mutants needed to be authorized to what, live? I clenched my jaw, suddenly feeling like I should sit up straight. I hated feeling like an adult.

_And what did this person say to you?_ I asked.

Frank laughed nervously, staring distraughtly at the table. _He told me… there is a place, not to far from here, where people like us, mutants, could… feel normal._

A little vague, but I think I like where this is going.

Frank laughed again, this time without the nervous edge. _It’s a school, up in New York. And it’s run by mutants, if you can believe it. It’s a safe space for us, where we can live normally. I didn’t get a lot of information because it was a quick chat and I kinda freaked, but it sounds good. And.._

_And what?_

_Well, this guy said he was going to come talk to you. I don’t know how he knows you, or how he knows I’m a mutant, but he does— and I may or may not have made a poor choice._

_What sort of poor choice?_

_You see,_ Frank said nervously, _after he mentioned you by name, he offered to take me to this place. It seemed kinda sketchy so I moved away before I got kidnapped or something, but as soon as I started walking, I- I don’t know what happened. It was like what went on between us. The voices. I heard the guy who I’d spoken to, but in my head this time, and he showed me the school and… holy shit, Gee._

_Are you… Are you actually shitting me? Frank, what sort of dumbass-_

_I know, I know. But you’ve gotta trust me on this one. We were here, in this sort of room. He’s a telepath, Gee! Just like us._

_Why couldn’t you have just started with this part?_

_That’s a good point. Regardless, I think you should listen to him when he comes around._

_And when will that be?_

_Not sure. Soon, is all he said._

_Soon. Now that doesn’t sound diabolical at all, Frank. Good job at getting us murdered. I’ll give you a proper thanking when I see you in hell._

Frank sighed. _Fine, go ahead and laugh at me. When the MRAA comes and kicks down your door asking for your blood type, just know I’ll be in upstate New York in a big ass mansion, having the time of my life._

_Getting probed by aliens._

_You wish._

I couldn’t stifle my laughter anymore, which didn’t really help my case. Something touched my hand and I looked down, but it wasn’t anything in the dream world. 

_Uh oh. I think I’ve gotta go,_ I murmured, watching the dark mist slip away and reveal what my eyes really saw before me. 

_All right. I should probably get back to work on my final, anyway. Gerard, please keep what I said in mind. I think this could be a really good opportunity._

_Yeah, to die._

_Whatever. Love you…_

The darkness hid my blush. _You too._

Mikey tapped me on the arm again. He signaled for me to pay attention to mom, who was looking cautiously at me.

“Sorry, could you repeat that, I must’ve spaced out again. Jet lag, you know?” I joked.

“Honey, you go to school four hours from here. You don’t have jet lag,” she replied.

I kept smiling just to keep the look of internal screaming off of my face. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve guessed she was an empath. 

“—And I was asking if you could clear the table, please.” 

“Oh, yeah, of course,” I hastily replied, hopping up and grabbing the plates, putting mine on the bottom, as to cover up how little I ate. I hurried into the kitchen and set the plates in the sink. Mikey shuffled past as I turned on the tap and soaped up the sponge. He sent me a look out of the corners of his eyes, 

_That was close._

_Got it. I’ll be better next time. Frank was telling me some weird shit._

_Oh, yeah?_ Mikey asked, taking the wet dishes from me and drying them as we spoke. 

_Mhm. Nonsense about this school in upstate New York for mutants, or something. He claims mutant Jesus found him at the mall and gave him the secrets of the universe, or something like that._

_Tell Frank to lay off the shrooms, okay? Even I’m starting to worry about him._

_I would, but I think he was serious. I could almost envision what he was talking about. The building was grey stone, with a dark wood interior. There were fountains and green grass, and basketball courts and a big old lake… it would be really pretty, if it were real._

Mikey snorted, but said nothing more. That was the other sort of ‘talking in loud’. It was less of a face to face conversation like the other kind, this was more ‘on the go’. Also cooler, if you ask me. It’s almost like I can just hear his thoughts pouring out of his ears, and if I’m not careful, I’ve learned, others can hear mine. 

Once all the plates were washed, I went upstairs to put on some sweats, and got a little caught up in some old comic books. By the time I came back downstairs, there was little remnants of the fire once in the hearth, and aside from some light Christmas tunes playing playing quietly, the room was empty and silent. 

I sat on the couch and looked out the front window, searching in the blustering snowfall. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was searching for, but I had a feeling there was something I ought to be looking for. I didn’t know the expanse of my telepathy, I didn’t know how far I could reach, and I knew that was not the moment to find out. Not when some other telepath was looking for me, not when he was searching in the snow. 

~

I woke up in the morning, still on that couch, but someone had put a blanket over me in the nighttime, and I was overheating. The curtains were still open, and I saw that the snow had stopped at some point. The street outside was covered in white, and that would make trying to leave the house a living hell. I squinted in the bright light and sat up. The blanket slipped onto the floor in my endeavor to get up.

A pair of footsteps sounded through the house as someone moved around. There was a loud THUNK from the kitchen, and then the footsteps stopped altogether. 

“Mikey?” I called out. 

“Yeah?” he replied, from his room on the second floor. 

I blinked a few times, my sleepy brain trying to put two and two together, but it kept equalling five. Gently, I slipped off my slippers and walked carefully towards the kitchen. A couple of boxes of cereal had fallen onto the floor from the cabinet above the fridge, and next to them—

“Are those skid marks?” Mikey asked, scaring the shit out of me. I jumped, but that didn’t seem to affect him. He kept staring at the black lines on the kitchen tile, that looked like a pair of shoes had been dragged across the floor. 

“I… Dunno,” I whispered, scratching my head. More footsteps now sounded from the stairwell, and Mikey shot me a look of uncertainty.

“Try to clean it or…?”

“Leave it,” I said, already putting the cereal back on the top shelf. Mikey walked away. 

Mom and Dad helped keep the conversation alive during breakfast, but neither Mikey nor I were really listening. I was sure I’d heard footsteps coming from the kitchen before the cereal fell, but if Mikey and our parents were all upstairs… “Two plus two equals four, right?” I asked, out of the blue. My parents stared at me. 

“Gerard, are you sure college isn’t stressing you out too much? No one will blame you if you talked to someone about it,” my mother replied. 

_That’s the last thing I want to do._

_Tell me about it,_ Mikey grumbled to me.

“Well, in some differential equations two plus two does not always equal four,” my father said, only adding to my confusion. 

“And that’s why you don’t take math in college,” Mikey added, taking a bite of his breakfast. 

“So, you’re saying,” I picked the conversation back up, and also kicked Mikey under the table. “That if something about the problem is different than the ‘norm’, per say, than it can equal five?”

“If that’s how it makes sense to you, then sure,” my father said, giving me a very concerned look. 

_I don’t know why you think you need to spell this out for me. You’re a telepath. Please stop kicking me under the table, Mikey hissed. And yes, I get it. You think that the mutants Frank was talking about—_

There was a knock at the front door. My dad turned around. 

“Who on earth could that be?” he wondered aloud, excusing himself from the table.

“Wait! Don’t!” I yelped. Everyone stared at me. “Let me.”

I got up instead and walked towards the door alone. 

_This is how every horror movie starts, Mikey said to me._

_Thanks, bud._

I removed the chain from the door and looked through the eye-hole. On the porch stood a guy, probably about my age, with short, silver hair, and aviator goggles over his eyes. 

“Great. Cosplayers at nine am. There’s officially nothing else in this world that can surprise me,” I grumbled, yanking open the door. What I had failed to notice was that there was more than one cosplayer on the porch. The other one looked a little too old to be doing that sort of thing, and a little inconvenienced by the lack of a wheelchair ramp.

“Hello, Gerard,” he said, his blue eyes piercing my very soul. “I’m so glad we’re finally meeting.”

“Hello, very frightening old man who I have never met in my life. Great to meet you too,” I said before I could stop myself. 

_MIKEY—_

There was a beat of silence. “May we come in?” the man in the wheelchair asked politely. Mikey finally appeared by my side, and this didn’t seem to surprise the man at all. The one in cosplay pulled out his iPod and switched the song. 

“Yeah, um, I don’t think this is a great time, maybe if you came back later, or, um, never, that would be cool-“

“Gerard,” the man sighed. “Don’t play games with me. I think you will find that I know a whole lot more than you think. What I have to offer plays into every belief you hold true.”

“Gerard, who’s there, honey?” my mother called from inside the house. 

“Oh, I think I should speak to your mother as well. This timing works out quite well, as it turns out,” the man in the wheelchair said. He scooted us aside and made his way into the house, followed quickly by the cosplayer with silver hair. He tapped me on the shoulder on his way into the house. 

“Sorry about the skid marks,” he whispered. 

I sent Mikey a look. However, that look didn’t even compare to the looks on my parents faces when an old white dude in a wheelchair strolled right on into their house. 

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Way. My name is Charles Xavier, head of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. I’m here to speak to you about your children.” He spoke with such ease, I wondered if he’d been doing this for years. You’d think he’d learn to be less creepy over the years. 

“Is everything all right?” my father asked, seating himself simultaneously with my mother.

“Oh, yes, quite all right. More than all right. I’ve come to offer them places at my school.” Silence settled in the room. Even the Christmas carols seemed to be listening in shock. 

“Um, they’re quite happy at their schools, thank you. Mr. Xavier, it’s really very kind of you to make a trip to offer this to us, but I’m sorry, we’re going to decline,” my mother informed him. 

“I understand your hesitation on the matter, but you don’t see my full meaning. My school is not one for those with especially talented minds, or at least,” the professor shot me a glance, with a glint in his eyes. “not in all cases. My school is for those who… hm.” The looks on confusion on my parents faces must’ve made this especially difficult for him to get out. 

“My dear parents, do you know the modern meaning of the term mutant?” he asked.

My mother made a choking sound and my father straightened up, just as I had done last night when Frank brought up the MRAA. 

“We have,” he said, “but if you’re implying that—“

“I am implying nothing. My school is a school for mutants, children who do not benefit from the average living conditions of modern day life. My school is a chance to keep them safe, while they learn the same things that everyone else does.”

“And because you’ve invited my- our children… that means they are…” my mother whispered. 

“Mutants,” the professor said proudly. 

_Shit,_ Mikey and I said in unison. 

“I’m sorry, sir, I just find that very hard to believe. Our children have never shown any signs of being _abnormal_ , they’re average homo-sapiens!” my father shouted. The way he said ‘abnormal’ resounded in my head, and just for a second I got the impression that someone else was listening in on my thoughts. I looked up to see the professor glance away from me at the last second. 

He sighed. “Perhaps that is because they have feared your reactions. As it is, there is nothing abnormal about being a mutant. It is a genetic development that more and more humans are being born with. They can help it no more than they can help their likes or dislikes. Similar to how you cannot control your unwavering love for your children, no matter what life they choose.” 

My father sat down in shock, and it seemed that for a moment the professor’s words were resonating with him. Then he shook it off as though it were a mosquito on the side of his face. My mother spoke up before anything else could spew from my father’s lips. 

“If our children are, as you say, _mutants_ , what would their gifts be? Something small enough to hide, obviously.” She chose her words carefully, and played with her fingers to help control her anxiety. 

There all of the sudden was a humorous glint in the professor’s eyes. “Easy to hide, evidently. But as for small…” he looked over us, and once again I felt that poke in the back of my head that said I was not alone anymore. “I think not.”

“Then… then what?” my mother asked. 

“No. No, no, no, NO! I will not have any more of this nonsense in my house. I demand you leave at once and leave our family in peace. It is Christmas, for God’s sake! My children won’t be going to this school of yours, and they are most certainly not mutants!” 

The professor sat back in his wheelchair and folded his hands on his lap. “I see. Well, I’m very sorry to have bothered you. You are completely right, it was rude of me to intrude on Christmas Day. Have a lovely rest of break. Gerard, Mikey,” henodded to us, then turned and wheeled away. 

_Tell Frank you will not be attending next semester, I am afraid he will be mightily disappointed to hear it from me,_ the unknown voice in my head said. 

“Wait!” I called after him. He turned slowly, a curious smile on his face. His cosplayer friend sighed and turned too, clearly very unhappy to be doing this. “Mom, Dad, there’s something Mikey and I have been meaning to tell you.” I looked at my brother, and was surprised to see he didn’t look angry at me for saying what I was about to say. 

“We are, um, in fact, mutants.” I didn’t know how to make it any simpler than that, but they still looked confused. 

“What do you mean, you’re mutants? No you’re not! We raised you, we know everything about you!” my father wailed. It hurt a little bit to see him like that. He wasn’t so much angry, despite how he acted, he was hurt that he had been so clueless. He liked feeling like he knew us, and now… now we’d proved him completely wrong. 

“Yeah, well, you missed a couple of things,” Mikey mumbled. 

“Fine,” my father said incredulously, “go on, show us your fantastical powers, then!” I was about to argue something about how it’s easier to explain, when someone in my peripheral disappeared. My mother clapped her hands to her mouth and my father’s jaw dropped. 

Woah. I’d never seen Mikey go completely invisible before. He’d been getting stronger, but I hadn’t noticed how much stronger, I suppose. He flickered back a few moments later, looking relatively normal. 

“And you?” my father asked weakly. 

_This_ , I whispered to the two of them. My mother’s brow furrowed for a moment, like she wasn’t entirely sure I hadn’t just whispered that, but my father sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. 

_I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner._ My mother nodded understandingly, but my father sighed and got up. He looked over the two of us with a neutral expression I’d never seen before. He nodded at us and then walked up stairs. The door to the bedroom he shared with my mother slammed, and that was the end of it.

“Mr. Xavier,” my mother mewled. He wheeled past us again and stopped next to her chair. “Is your school safe? For… for mutants? I know there is a lot of hatred towards them right now, but I’d never considered it would… affect us.”

“No, people never do until it does. That’s why people are the way they are. And yes, Mrs. Way, I can assure that Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters is as safe as can be. Would you like to visit it?” he offered. 

My mother looked up at us and pursed her lips, evidently weighing the heavy decision that my father had backed out of. 

“Yes,” she said finally. “Yes, I think I would like to do that.”

~

The agreement went that at the end of the week, the three of us, myself, Mikey, and our mother, would go visit Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, and if we liked it we could begin attendance as soon as possible, and if we did not like it, we would be escorted home. 

Frank was delighted to hear that I would be joining him at the school, which he recently had decided to tell me he was already attending when we spoke on Christmas Eve. 

_I left for the school the second day of break. I set up all my stuff and went back home for Christmas. Just told my relatives I got stuck at school due to a snow storm._

_Oh, very genius, Frank. I cannot believe you’d lie to me like that._

_I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you to worry about it more than you should’ve._

_And making up a tale where this mysterious professor cornered you in public and showed you mystical images of a fairy land wouldn’t make me worried?_

He sighed. _All right, fine, I’ll admit defeat. I’m just glad you’re coming._

_Me too._

“Gerard, have you seen my Anthrax t-shirt? I can’t find it anywhere,” Mikey poked his head in my room. I pretended to be packing and shuffled around, fake searching for a t-shirt I hadn’t seen in months.

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize you were talking to Frank. I’ll come back later,” he murmured. 

“No, it’s fine! Feel free to look around in here, if you want.” Mikey looked suspicious but gave in and shut the door behind him. I said a quick goodbye to Frank and turned my full attention to my clearly sullen little brother.

“What’s wrong, Mikes?”

“Nothing.”

“No offense, but bullshit. I know you better than that.”

“God, layer on the cheese, why don’t you,” Mikey mumbled, pulling socks off of the heater in the corner. 

“I just meant… I’m sorry I dragged you into all of this. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. It’s a lot, I’ll admit.”

“And leave you and mom defenseless? I think not.”

“Defenseless? Come on. Mom’s got a can of mace in a thigh holster at all times, you know that,” I replied.

“A can of mace against super-humans… I don’t like those odds all that much.”

I sat back and thought for a few minutes, while he tried to tidy my room in order to find his missing shirt.

“Is that what you’re scared of, Mikes? This being dangerous?” I asked.

He sighed and sat down on his ass. “Yeah, I mean, why wouldn’t it be? Tomorrow morning we’re getting into a car with a stranger who’s going to drive us to this mystery school in the middle of fuckall, full of strange people. Who knows, this could just as easily be a trap set in place by the MRAA. Gather up mutants by telling them fairy tales about this magical place where all your dreams come true—“

“That’s Disneyland, Mikey.”

“—Whatever. It seems unlikely. It’s probably gonna be filled with people who look like frogs and mice, because of all the experiments done by the scientists of the MRAA.”

“I’m sorry, how old are you again? Cause I could’ve sworn I just heard seven year old Mikey telling me about his new favorite horror movie.” Mikey flung a shoe at me. 

“Like I said, this feels like the beginning of a horror film.” 

I sighed deeply. “Listen, Mikes. Whatever happens, it’s still the two of us against the world, okay? I will gladly mind control some idiot scientists in your honor.”

“You’re such a jackass.”

“Probably. Anyway, did you find your shirt?” 

“No,” he grumbled. I bit back a smile.

“Hm. Maybe that’s because you’re wearing it.” He looked down at his shirt which was in fact his Anthrax shirt.

“Fuck you, Gerard.” Mikey stormed out, trying to hold back a smile. He shut the door, and I listened to his footsteps fade out down the hallway. 

_Well, he sure seems like a ball of sunshine,_ Frank said, scaring the shit out of me. 

_He’s under a lot of pressure._

_Mhm._

I rolled my eyes and slowly convinced myself to keep packing, despite how much I hated it. I ended up taking the largest suitcase I could find and then dumping everything out of my drawers into it. It worked well enough. The only problem was how little time that took, so soon enough I found myself bored and anxiously waiting for sleep to come to me. I spent so long laying on my bed and eating crackers that you’d think by the time I finally passed out in a food coma, I would’ve been happy for sleep, but no. Not with the dreams that followed. 

It wasn’t like any dream I’d ever had, and to be completely honest I’m not even sure it was a dream. For one, I was in the dream space where I’d spoken to Frank a few days earlier. Secondly, I wasn’t alone. I couldn’t see who I was speaking to, but the presence was strong enough to make me think they were standing right next to me, breathing in my ear. A chill rolled down my spine, and I felt the damp coldness that resided within the room. I looked over my shoulder but saw nothing but the darkness that was always there. Then the person began to speak. 

_I’m going to tell you a story. There once was a little boy, who liked adventures. He was a well liked young man; he met plenty of friends, friends that would go to the end of the earth for this little boy. And as it turned out, they would._

I could feel fear spreading through my body like acid in my blood, that made my chest palpitate and my lungs feel numb. As scared as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to say a word. His words had powers over me that I couldn’t comprehend. 

_If I were you, I’d want to be very careful, Gerard. Your talent may be a gift, but it will expose your faults in the end. There is no good or bad in the land of gods, only those who bring darkness, and those who bring salvation. And that little boy, who tried his best, but still led his friends off the face of the earth— was he good, or bad?_

_Good_ and _bad_ hung in the air, and I got the feeling that the voice was waiting for me to pick one. My breathing was more rushed and I started to sweat. My mind felt fuzzy and loud, getting louder and louder and louder— I was about twenty seconds from a panic attack. I couldn’t bring myself to choose, and the voice registered my hesitation with a cold, cruel laugh. 

_Well, I guess you’ll have to wait and see._

I woke up in a cold sweat and threw myself off of the bed and into the nearest corner. My arms hugged my waist as I sank down into fetal position and cried. I was too big to be crying at nightmares, but I still felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I gave myself a moment to recuperate. I looked down at my shaking hands, and swallowed up the rest of my fear.

Something moved in the hallway, and it was headed straight for my room. Shit, I thought. Mikey couldn’t see me like that. He'd never go if he did. I got up and put my weight on my dresser, and tried to look normal. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. There was a quiet knock on my door before it clicked open. Mikey’s face peeked in through the crack, and it was only then I noticed the light streaming through the gaps in the blinds. 

_Gee? Oh, hey. I thought I heard something._

_Yeah, me falling off the bed. Nothing says good morning like old socks in your face._

_Yeah, okay…_ Mikey shut the door again. I waited until his door opened and closed before releasing the breath I’d been holding. Then I scrambled for a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down everything I remembered from my dream. This wasn’t going to be some movie scenario where somehow I remembered every word that mysterious dream voice spoke. I had the memory of a goldfish, I’d probably forget it by lunch. 

I looked over my chicken scratch, reading and re-reading the words almost a hundred times before they started to register with me. I thought about telling Frank, but he’d probably not want me to come if I told him. 

There came another knock on my door, so I shoved the paper in my pocket as fast as I could and whirled around to face the door. A hand with painted nails slipped in the crack and pushed the door open further. 

“Gerard, honey? Almost packed?” She didn’t make any advances. Usually, she’d waltz right in and start picking up junk off the floor, but today she stood her ground and folded her hands anxiously. 

“Yeah, I did that last night. I’m ready to go whenever.” As I said that I realized that I was not ready to go whenever. I was going to miss my room and my house to death. “Actually, I might need a few more minutes. Just to double check.”

“Of course. Come down when you’re ready.”

“Ready for what? Is the car here?”

“Breakfast. I’m not letting you leave without breakfast,” she said firmly. Then she strode over and gave me a hug, sighing deeply into my neck. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her, but she moved away before it got too strange for her. 

“Just… hurry down.” She speed-walked out and shut the door behind her. “AND MAKE YOUR BED!”

I half-smiled and looked at my messy bed. The smile faded almost the instant it formed, as the dream came back to me. Nightmares weren’t something I experienced frequently at my age. Come to think of it, nightmare wasn’t a good enough term for it. That was my own little horror film. 

I brushed the thought away for the time being and tried to figure out what I would miss most when I was gone. Whatever came to mind went directly into the suitcase. I kept thinking up things, so at some point I said “fuck it”, and dropped what I was doing. I threw on some clothes and went downstairs for what I assumed was going to be the most awkward meal of my life. 

Mikey was already down there, crunching on toast and cereal, and staring at his phone. No one said anything as I sat down next to him. And, if at all possible, it got even more silent when my dad walked in and sat across from us. Even my mother sent a warning glance over to us before continuing to scramble some eggs. 

He picked up the newspaper and flipped through it, but I didn’t think he was actually reading it. Inside his head, he was a mess of potential phrases and thoughts, not all of them harsh and intimidating. He was just looking for the right thing to say to us. I guess I must’ve hit a nerve because he looked up at me. I jumped and looked down at my empty plate. 

“Kids,” he began, finally lowering the newspaper. “I think you got the wrong impression from me the other night. I’m not- I don’t-“ he sighed. “—The professor, or whatever, was right. No matter who you end up being, you will still be my sons, and I will still love you for it. Just don’t do anything… stupid. I think that’s enough to handle.”  
Mikey sent me a look that I caught out of the corner of my eye. I got the final say, I suppose. 

“Thanks, dad. I’m glad you feel that way,” I said sincerely. Mikey nodded at him and smiled. I could feel the relief wafting from my mother, who’s nerves finally calmed down a little bit, now that we had my father’s blessing. 

A car honked from outside. That ounce of calm I’d felt a second ago evaporated. 

“Boys, go get your things. Gerard, I’ll put these eggs in a bag for y-“

“I’m not eating eggs out of a bag.”

“Oh, yes, you are,” my mother insisted. She pulled out a sandwich bag and starting spooning the eggs into it. Before I got another word out, Mikey whisked me out of my chair and dragged me up the stairs. I didn’t need to read his mind to know how he felt, his grip on my arm said enough. 

_Don’t worry, we’ll be fine._

_Wasn’t it you who told me to put all my faith in mom’s leg canister of mace?_

_Yeah, that might’ve been a poor choice._

Mikey sighed and turned down to hall towards his room. I stood in the archway of mine and looked over the remains of my room. It must’ve looked something like this when my parents first moved in here, but that was before I was born. It’s a skeleton of a room, and it bothered me more than I could put into words. Mikey must’ve heard my distress, because a moment later he appeared at my side and put a hand on my shoulder. 

“I’m sure mom could always bring stuff over that we forget,” he said.

“It’s not about that.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

In that moment I really wanted to tell him about the dream, but my big brother instincts told me not to. I stuck my hand in my pocket and clutched the folded up piece of paper I’d stuffed in there. 

“I don’t want to be cliche here, but are you also getting the feeling that—“ _That we won’t be back here for a long time._

_Yes._

I looked at him, but before I could say anything else, perhaps even about my dream if no one stopped me, our mother called us down. 

We met her by the front door, where she stood clutching her tote bag and whispering to our father. When she caught sight of us, she stopped talking instantly. 

“Well,” she said after we had stood in the doorway for a sold minute and a half. “I’m glad we all made up before we go off. I’ll see you soon,” she said, kissing my father on the cheek. “But you boys should say your goodbyes now. I don’t know how long it’ll be until you’re back. Could be tonight, could be next year.”  
Mikey and I took turns hugging our dad. The taxi honked again, and he pushed us out the door before we could get another word out. I dragged my stuff towards the taxi and dropped the suitcase in the open trunk. Our mother went and sat up front, sitting straight and vigilant. Mikey and I sat in the back, and buckled in, trying to ignore how worried we knew each other was. Dad waved at us from the porch, as the car started up and drove down the street, away from our house. 

I tried to contact Frank, despite the early hour. It hadn’t even reached six o'clock by the time we hit the highway, so I wasn’t surprised. Mikey put his headphones in and leaned against his seatbelt, but I knew he was awake. Mom looked back at me and smiled, and I felt like a kid again, in the car on the way to the doctor’s office for a shot. She turned back around and kept a close watch on where we were going, occasionally pestering the driver about his road choice. In the meantime, I tapped into Mikey’s head and listening in on his music. It wasn’t exactly quiet time music, but I was used to it. The problem was that every time I caught myself getting sleepy, I’d think back to the dream, and chills would run down my spine. I tried not to focus on it, but the more I attempted to ignore it, the more I felt the slip of paper in my pocket. 

Finally, I unrolled it and read it to myself. As my luck would have it, Mikey wasn’t nearly as sleepy as he seemed. The moment the paper crinkled in my hand, he pulled out an earbud. 

_What’s that?_

_Nothing._

_Odd. To me it looks like—_

_Like none of your business? Why yes, Mikey, it is._

Mikey scowled at me and but his earbud back in his ear where it belonged. I leaned my head against the window and watched the shitty, shitty scenery go by. Pretty wasn’t usually how someone describes New Jersey, but hey, it’s home. Or, it was. So, it was enough to lull me off into a unsettlingly deep sleep. 

Mikey woke me up when the car pulled to a stop. 

My mother had already gotten up, and Mikey was unclipping his seat belt, eyes jerking around nervously. I fumbled around until I forcefully ejected myself from the vehicle, barely avoiding falling on my face. We were in a fairly sized garage that smelled like motor oil and exhaust, which is never a good combination. All sorts of vehicles were parked in here, from sport cars, to motorbikes, to taxis, evidently. There were working stations along one wall, with tools hanging from pegs stuck in the plaster. 

“All right,” said the taxi driver, although it was the first time I’d heard him say anything. “Just walk out those double door ahead, and you should see the professor. He’ll lead you in.” I turned around to thank him, but he was gone. My mother clapped a hand to her mouth and stared at us. 

“Can either of you do that too?”

We stared at her. “No.”  
I picked up my stuff and shuffled past her and Mikey and made for the double doors. The stood out from the rest of the room because they were dark wood, unlike the rest of the light colored interior. I wasn’t one for interior design, but I could tell something was off about this room. I was about to reach for doorknob when something held me back. Something crossed my mind. Was this the adventure that the dream voice had warned me about?

_Open the door._ I jumped. I whirled around to look at Mikey, but he didn’t seem phased in the slightest. The voice in my head was quiet for a moment, but I knew for a fact that the voice hadn’t come from anyone in the room. Which could’ve meant a couple of things. I tried to work through the possibilities, but I never got the chance. 

“Oh, for fucks sake.” Mikey pushed past me and threw open the doors, which sounded a lot heavier than they looked. I followed him through the doorway, too nervous to tell him not to go any farther, when he stopped on his own. He started up at the sky, where the sun beamed down on us, bright and hot. My eyes didn’t appreciate the vast change from the dim garage. Sandy colored gravel crunched under my feel as I squirmed uncomfortably. The landscape was snowy white and wild, but too well kept to not be landscaped. While I was busy looking for birds or whatever, Mikey elbowed me in the gut, urging me to look ahead. 

A couple meters down the gravel path, sat the professor in his wheelchair, bald head glinting from the sun. 

“This feels like a standoff,” I murmured, antsy not to say anything in loud, as to prevent any unwanted voices from appearing. I had a feeling that wouldn’t do anything, but the sentiment helped my nerves a little bit. 

The professor beckoned us closer. Reluctantly, we started to scuffle. Our mother pushed through us and strode confidently over to the professor. 

“Good to see you again. I was beginning to worry,” she told him.

“I understand. How as the trip? Was the drive all right?” he asked. 

“I expected it to be much longer. I was thinking you’d be farther north, more upstate. Well, I guess it’s for the best. Now we have a whole day to use.”

“And there’s not a moment to waste,” said the professor. Just because his segue was smooth didn’t mean I trusted him. Although, it was pretty smooth. “If you’ll follow me down this path, I’ll show you to the main house.”

_That makes it sound like there’s more than one,_ Mikey said.

_Oh, there is,_ replied the unknown voice I’d heard earlier. Suddenly it clicked. Mikey and I turned and looked at the professor, who was smiling kindly at us, with a knowing gleam to his eyes. He turned and wheeled down the gravel path without another word, as a sense of understanding passed between the three of us. Our mother sent the two of us a **be polite** look before following at his heels— or, wheels, I should say. 

The path split off several times, weaved through courtyards, and curved around large trees that didn’t appear to be native to… anywhere. Everything was dusted with white snow, but underneath I could see green grass like drought nor winter weren’t things that existed in this parallel universe. Or maybe these people had crazy water and heating bills. Either way, everything looked healthy and lush and normal, except for one thing. I hadn’t seen a single kid in the ten minutes we’d been walking. This was supposed to be a school, wasn’t it? So where was everyone?

My mother must have been reading my mind— no, that’s not what I meant. She must’ve… fuck, I dunno. She said something similar to what I was thinking? 

“Seems awful empty for a school, Mr. Shouldn’t kids be outside since it’s winter break?” she pondered. The professor wheeled forwards a few more meters in total silence before stopping underneath a large willow, and turning to face us. 

“Because of my school’s peculiar nature, it is not in my best interests to deceive you. Recently, an unknown and unspecified evil has been bothering us here. Without proper supervision, or until the threat is eliminated, we feel it would be unwise to leave students unattended. Regardless of ability and training.”

“Hm. All right, good to meet you Mr. Professor, but I think it’s time to go, boys,” our mother said, ushering us back down the path. 

“I understand your hesitation, Mrs. Way, but tell me, do you think there is a safer place for your children than a school run by mutants?” the professor asked. 

Our mother stopped and gave him a hard look. “Fine, then. Show me this school. I’m sick of the countryside.” 

The professor wheeled back onto the gravel path, and continued along. It felt like a funeral procession, and I wasn't sure I liked that connection.


	2. Doomed From the Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys dive in...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhhhhhhh do you know how annoying it is to add italic tags into this????? I want to stab my brain
> 
> Enjoy

Now, whatever sort of Hogwarts shit I was expecting wasn’t exactly what I got. Nah, not even close. After another ten minutes or so of slowly walking and probably getting our white asses sunburnt, we took a ninety degree left into the unknown. Finally, after what felt like two hours, we stood before the big house. (Mikey thinks it’s too big to be considered a house at all.)

I’m a fairly tall person, but I got a kink in my neck from staring up for so long. The face of the house was grey and made of stone, with tall rectangular windows on every level, and from what I could tell, there were about five. I stopped dead in my tracks to gape at the building, and didn’t stop until my mother elbowed me so I’d shut my damn mouth. She and the professor continued onwards, onto the ramp that led to the porch, and at some point even Mikey went along. I snapped back into reality, and sent one last look up at the front of the house, because at the last moment I could’ve sworn I’d seen someone looking down at me from one of the windows. 

The front doors were wide open. Mikey stood on the porch, waiting for me to get my act together. I sent one last glance over my shoulder at the basketball courts past the driveway before I ushered myself into the main hall. The doors shut behind us with a clunk that didn’t sound like it was made my wooden doors, but I didn’t hear a lock click, so my brain told me I was safe. For the time being. 

_“Holy shit,”_ I said, both out loud and in loud. My mother elbowed me, but seemed too preoccupied to scold me. Mikey smiled at me, and mom’s mace completely faded from mind. 

The hallway was definitely longer than my entire house, and that’s not even the half of it. There’s no word in the English dictionary that could accurately describe the length of the hallway. The wooden walls shone in the afternoon light, and even without the hanging lights above us, the entire house seemed bright and alert from all the sunlight that poured in from the front windows. The professor and my mother were already a good length down the hall, so Mikey and I jogged over to them, passing quite a few archways that—get this—led into more fucking hallways. 

I turned in circles as I walked, trying to absorb every aspect of the room before we moved off into the next one. The high ceilings made the room feel even bigger, not that the effect was at all necessary. 

_I hope this place comes with a map._

_No kidding,_ Mikey replied. 

I checked up on my mother, but she seemed preoccupied with what sounded like a scintillating conversation with the professor, so I slinked along a few paces behind them with Mikey. 

_Notice anything?_

_Yes, I’m noticing the suspicious lack of anything._

_I’m getting that too. Where is everybody?_

_Like I’d know, dickbag._

_You’re such an angel when you’re stressed, Mikey._ He clenched his jaw and looked back over his shoulder. I put a hand on his back and tried not to laugh. I was starting to get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I didn’t want to be too quick to judge, but I was beginning to get excited. 

Up ahead, the professor signaled for us to follow the two of them into the room on the right. The hallway ended up ahead, so we turned through the large archway on our right. The whole space was a step down from the hallway. The room was filled with couches angled around a fireplace with no fire in it. One shelved wall held hundreds of boardgames, some too old for me to recognize. At the back of the room was a wall made of glass, beyond which laid a pond, frozen over. Some trees surrounded it, a couple of rope swings hanging from their largest boughs. 

My mother sat down on the couch to continue her conversation with the professor that I had zero interest listening to, so while she talked politics or whatever, I moved towards the back, where the glass was encrusted with ice crystals. I drew a smiley face in the glass and tucked my hand in my pocket.

Just for a second, my eyes flickered out over the lake. Then I saw her. 

She spun over the ice, dressed up in a little ice dancer’s outfit, complete with muffs over her ears, and pretty white skates. She moved almost too effortlessly, skating up and down the pond, sometimes backwards. She caught sight of me and smiled, and I’m not ashamed to admit I was too shell-shocked to even smile back. Her frame lowered and all of the sudden she leapt into the air and landed almost perfectly. One of her hands scraped the ice to maintain balance, but the moment her skin made contact, the ice shot up her arm like some sort of disease. It wasn’t like any sort of frostbite I’d ever seen, since it didn’t devour her, it became her. As it moved up her arm, I could see through more and more of her. A wind pushed her hair back and she finally stopped, gracefully bowing so low she kissed her knee. 

She sent one more look at me, then disappeared with a sudden blast of snow. I gasped and whipped around, trying to configure my thoughts. My heart beat out of tune, but before I could manually calm myself down, something else did it for me.

_Do you feel that?_ Mikey asked, right on time. I could see the worry in his eyes, but nowhere else on him. Even when I read him, every indication told me he was calm, yet I knew for a fact he was not. 

_Yeah. Not liking it._

I was pretty accustomed to being the only one in my head, so when I felt a poke, it drove me off the deep end. Maybe that was how people felt when I went digging around in their heads. I grabbed onto the back of the couch in order to keep from dropping to the floor. Mikey’s voice garbled in my ears, and I saw him reaching for me but I blurred him out. Somebody was on the run from me, and they did not just get to poke around in my head without giving me a say in it. The odd calming sensation faded as the splinter in my brain ran from me, and just before it escaped I reached out into the portal and—

There was a scream from the hallway. 

The professor turned inquisitively from me—I hadn’t realized he’d been looking at me—to the hallway. Somebody stepped into the shadow cast by a corner lamp.

“Sorry,” the person muttered, stepping into the light. The boy rubbed his head, taking each of us in separately. The professor sighed understandingly, and nodded.

“Yes, that would make sense,” he said, mostly to himself. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet a pupil of mine, and a student of the school. This young man is Ryan Ross, an empath.” Then the professor turned to Mikey and I. “He’s just like the two of you.”

The kid named Ryan rubbed his head some more, and I almost felt bad for grabbing at him like that. Empathy? Yeah, I guess that would make sense. It at least explained the calm. I swallowed all of my reservation and strode over to the kid and held out a hand. He took his hand off of his head to shake mine and gave me a meek smile. 

_I’m Gerard, and that’s my brother Mikey. Sorry if I hurt you, I just freaked out a little bit._

_No worries,_ Ryan replied, like he’d been using telepathy his entire life. _I’ve been experimenting with ways to dissolve social anxiety, since a whole lot of mutants have it. I guess forcing calm on everyone doesn’t exactly do the trick._

_Guess not. I’m sure people don’t really like being lab rats either, no offense._

Ryan smiled, clearly embarrassed. _I’m starting to get that…_

I laughed a little, and felt naturally calm, which… really didn’t feel all that different from fake calm. Ryan also shook Mikey’s hand, but I doubt there was any silent communication there. I was about to start up a random conversation to avoid the awkward silence, when the professor saved us instead. 

“Boys?” he called, rotating to face us. “I think it would—“ he was cut off by a loud CLUNK from a short ways away. Ryan was the only one who didn’t seem concerned by the noise, he almost looked bored. Maybe this was a common occurrence. I was about to ask when he cut me off. 

“He’s been raving about you for **days**.” 

“Who—“ I didn’t the chance to finish my sentence before a fucking beast tackled me. My knees buckled from shock but I caught myself on the back of a couch before I could completely eat shit. 

_Hey, Gee._

Frank pulled back from the embrace he was smothering me with and smiled brightly, so close to my face I could barely hold myself back from kissing him. I saw his eyes dart to my mother off to the side, and he released me in an instant. He wiped his hands off on his pants and cleared his throat awkwardly. 

My mother glanced nervously from Frank to me, asking more questions with her eyes than with her words. 

“Mom, this is Frank. He’s my—“

“That’s Frank?” Mikey interrupted, gaping at me. I sent him a ‘could-you-please-not-interrupt-my-coming-out-moment-please’ look, and if he understood it, he didn’t care. I started to respond, but was cut short. 

“While I’m sure this would make for a very personal conversation, I hope I’m not too rude in saying this might not be the time. Mrs. Way, if you have made your decision, we have many more things to discuss. There’s paperwork to be done,” he said. 

My mother’s lip trembled, but I could tell simply from the direction her thoughts pointed that her decision had always been made. She ushered me and Mikey forward and pulled us into a hug. She was sniffling, trying to hold back her real tears. I felt her press her lips onto my forehead, and patted the two of us on the backs. 

“Oh,” she muttered, wiping her eyes. “This is just like sending you off to college again. I’m sorry, I’m such a mess.”

“Don’t worry, this isn’t goodbye. Spring break is not too long from now. Besides, they can call you any time.” The professor paused, giving her a moment to collect herself. “Now, if you’ll follow me to my office, I believe there are some documents to be transferred. As for the two of you,” he spoke to us, “I’ll send someone to help you settle in. I’m sure Frank has much to tell you, and Ryan won’t mind extending some more hospitality. Mrs. Way, whenever you’re ready.”

Mom pinched my cheek as she strung her bag over her shoulder and followed the professor back down the hallway. She blew kisses at us the whole way down the hallway. An immense sadness draped over me in her absence. There was something different about her leaving this time, as if a small part of me left with her. As much as I knew she tried to understand, this was **nothing** like college.

Ryan pressed two fingers onto my forearm and a wave of relief washed over me. I unclenched my jaw and pulled myself together, forcing my line of sight away from the doorway.

I felt a little poke inside my head, and turned to Frank. He smiled up at me again, this time few feet away, but I would’ve run eighty miles if I got to kiss him. And I did. I waltzed right over and took him by the face. It felt so much better in person. I heard a quiet “oh” from somewhere behind me, but by the time I pulled away, the room was completely silent. 

“Interesting first impression,” said the mysterious person in the doorway who I hadn’t noticed. I took Frank’s hand in mine because he made me feel safer just by him being there. No one seemed to notice. 

“This him, Frank?” she asked. When Frank nodded back at her, she regarded me a little more kindly and then smiled at the four of us. “Neat. Anyway, this big ass mansion isn’t getting any smaller, and I didn’t volunteer to lead your tour out of the goodness of my heart, so let’s get to it, shall we?”

_Know her?_ I asked.

_Little bit._

_She seems to know me._

_That’s my fault. I gushed about you when I first got here._ I blushed and looked away to try and hide it. 

“People are so untrusting these days,” the woman sighed. “My name is Hayley, I go to school here. I’ll probably be in a class of yours at some point, and I would explain my powers, but you—“ she pointed directly at me. “—Already know what they are.”

Mikey’s mind read like a question mark. He tried to get out his words instead, but they stuck in his throat so badly that I had to read his mind to figure out what he was trying to express. 

“I saw her through the window,” I murmured to him before returning to Hayley. “And you have the power to sync with, like, natural shit, right?”

“I’ve never heard it phrased like that, but sure. Listen, I’m sure you’re all wigged right now, so just follow me and I’ll do all the talking. This place might look like some fancy boarding school, but trust me, it’s just as much a frat house as anywhere else. The best thing you can do right now is try not to be intimidated and absorb as much information as you can. Can you all do that?” she asked. 

Mikey and I nodded slowly. 

I’m sure that wasn’t the reaction she was going for, but it seemed to me that she’d had worse days. My fight or flight response was begging me to take just a quick peek into her brain, but my morals said— well, they said about the same. Frank elbowed me forward before I could even get a pinch of her thoughts, since he’s apparently all about morals today. 

I hadn’t realized Hayley was talking until we’d gone several hundred feet down the main corridor. More pathways split off from it like roots, some dark and daunting, others light and airy. High, vaulted ceilings raised the hair on the back of my neck, like I was on a tour of a haunted castle. Portraits of old dudes hung here and there on the walls. I didn’t recognize any of them. Everything about this place confused me. I knew it was a boarding school, but I expected it to look a little more like a school, closer to a college, maybe. But all I got was Hogwarts, cracked out edition. 

Frank squeezed my hand for encouragement. “Do you feel that?” he whispered.

“What? Yeah, I felt that, you squeezed me.”

Frank rolled his eyes. “No, dumbass. Put your hand against the wall, and listen.”

I thought maybe he was pulling some sort of joke on me, but the tone of his voice forced me to obey. Sometimes when he spoke, I felt like there were strings on my limbs, and his wish was my command. And no, I don’t mean that in a kinky way. I put my palm against the cold wood of the wall, and a shockwave went through me whole body. 

I shot back. “Holy—“

“See?” he grinned broadly. 

What I’d just felt was power. I wasn’t sure how I knew, or how it had gotten there, or how I’d felt it, or— or any other of my billion questions. But there was unbridled, untapped power in this place. And now that I’d noticed it once, I couldn’t stop. Sometimes when Hayley looked straight at one of us, her eyes would start to glow with power— a mutual share of talent. I could smell it too. Maybe it’s different for everyone, but for me it smells like acrylic paints and rust, like untouched guitar strings that sat in my basement for too long. 

My chest swelled and I let out the breath I’d been holding since I’d first arrived here. I knew, in that moment, that I belonged here. I raised my hand and looked at it, because now it looked less like a foreign object, and more like a tool. It was a welcome change, believe me. Knowing all of my own power was sloshing ‘round and ‘round in my blood felt so good that I couldn’t help but smile. I don’t think anyone noticed my little episode, which was probably a good thing, but at the same time, I was deposited back into the real world the moment I looked up and noticed the look on Hayley’s face.

She wasn’t frowning at me, no, her eyes drifted toward something behind me, as though she was expected to be followed. When I turned, the hallway was empty. Hayley wheeled back around and continued the tour as though nothing had happened, but that just about ruined it for me. Great, I thought. _Maybe it’s haunted._ With my luck? Probably. 

“And over here,” Hayley hollered, fiddling with her fingers, “is the mess hall. Before you say anything, remember this place was just a mansion before it got turned into a school.” I didn’t know what that meant, but as we turned into the mess hall, I figured it out pretty quick. 

There was a little kitchen on one wall, and the rest of the room was taken up by folding tables with tablecloths over them to make them look a little less shitty. Mismatched chairs from all over the mansion made up the seating arrangement. The only thing making this room less dreary was the back wall. Instead of dark wooden walls like the rest of the house, this wall was simply glass. It allowed the small amount of sunlight available in, leaving mottled sun spots on the ground like a disco ball hung from the ceiling.

Hayley made some coffee for the few of us. The very instant the caffeine entered my body, I began to feel lighter. 

I decided right there, this was the best room in the house. Something about the sheer randomness of the space called for me, and I unknowingly lingered in the doorway for so long, the group moved on without me. I caught up with them, but the rest of the tour went like a blur. (I’m pretty sure that was thanks to the coffee Hayley gave us.)

We circled back to the main entryway, the foyer the size of my house back home. She gestured at the grand staircase that led up to the second level and beyond.

“I’m really not going to bother with those levels, it would take all week to tell you everything about them. Aside from a few exceptions, classrooms are on the first and second floors, the second floor does not always follow the laws of physics, you can thank Bert for that,” she drawled. I had no idea who Bert was, but the way she said his name made me a little bit concerned. “Student housing is on the third and fourth floors, unless you need moonlight to photosynthesize, in which case your housing is near the boat house by the lake. Aside from Professor X, teacher offices and housing is on the fifth floor, please do not go near there unless you want to die—“

“Hold on,” Mikey interrupted. “If their offices are up there, why can't we go up? What if we need to ask a question?”

“Because weird shit goes on up there. Experiments, explosions, weird smells,” Hayley began. She sent Mikey a sideways glance and broke a smile. “Just kidding. Students aren’t allowed to go up there, it’s been against the rules since that one dude took senior prank too far. But it’s all right because you can email teachers any time. Except Bert.”

“Who’s Bert?” I asked.

“He’s basically a poltergeist, and also our mascot. Don’t worry about him. Oh, yeah! One last thing before I forget. Basement is off limits. To everyone. Forever.”

“Why?”

Hayley shrugged. “Just is.” _Great._

Before any of us could get any more ghost stories out of her, there came the rattling of the professor’s wheelchair, which entered the room five minutes before he did. Following him not far behind was our mother, looking nice but slightly emotional. 

The two of them strolled right on over. 

“Ah, Hayley! Wonderful. How was the tour?” the professor asked. I wasn’t sure who he was asking, so I just nodded and waited for somebody to answer. No one did. 

“Excellent! Now, onto the final details.” He wheeled over to Mikey and me. “Here I have some consent forms. All you need to do is sign them and you’re officially enrolled at Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. Even if you’re not so young.” He handed us each a sheet of paper and a pen.

I signed right away, but Mikey leaned against a wall and read the whole paper, front and back. Hayley made a face from behind him. 

“My dear boy, I can feel your hesitation, and—“

“Listen, as long as I’m not your guinea pig, I couldn’t care less.” Mikey uncapped the pen and scribbled his name. He gave the paper one last look of disapproval, or maybe that was just generic teenage angst, then thrust it back to the professor. 

Our mother gave him a **be nice** nudge and glared at him. 

The professor inquisitorially glanced at Mikey as he set the paper on his lap, and turned to Hayley. “Would you mind giving the four of us some space? I’m sure there are things you ought to be doing. For example, your physics homework that was due the day before break?”

Hayley cursed and bolted down the hallway. Frank shot me a look before he and Ryan wandered away as well. 

“Well now, boys,” the professor sighed. “I believe I owe the two of you an orientation. I overheard some of the things Hayley was explaining to you, but there are still things you need to hear from an administrator, or, in this case, headmaster. While this school is paramount to your understanding and development of your powers, it still is a school of academics. I am the headmaster as well as the physics teacher of all grade levels. Balancing both your subject based learning and your experience based learning is challenging, but I do believe the both of you are up to the challenge. Is that so?”

I only understood about half of what he said, but I nodded because I was pretty sure that’s what I was supposed to be doing. 

“Very well. If that is all, I do believe now comes to time to say goodbye. I’ve already had someone bring your things to your dorm rooms.”

“Woah, wait, what? It’s the last day of the year, you can’t go back to school so soon. Don’t you wait until, like, at least after New Years?” I yelped. 

The professor pondered this, which was pretty unsettling since it was a yes or no question. “It is true… yet I’d rather ask you something. If you did not expect to stay here tonight, why did you pack nearly all of your things?”

“Because—“ I stopped there. I didn’t have anything to follow it. I turned to Mikey for help but he wasn’t about to jump in. 

“Gerard, you may leave tonight if you wish, and come back when term begins, January third. However, I do believe it would be much more difficult to navigate on your first day, knowing no one, and not having done nor understood the break homework. By all means it is possible, but I’m not sure it is recommendable.”

I looked from the professor, to Mikey, to my mother. She looked sullen as she nodded in approval. “Mom? What do you think?”

She sniffled. “You know what I think.” She was right, and I didn’t need telepathy to understand. 

“Okay, then. I guess we’re staying here tonight. And the next night. And—“

Mikey put a hand on my back. “It’s okay. You can shut up now.” I shrugged him off as I made a face at him. 

With nothing really left to say, the professor led us to where a taxi was waiting to drive our mother home. She hugged us both and got into the car, forcing us to promise to call her and tell her how we’re doing. It almost felt like going away to college, if I didn’t feel so physically endangered by the week to come. As the car began to drive away, the professor strolled back down the path in the opposite direction, but neither Mikey nor I followed him.

“Bye, mom,” I muttered one last time as I watched the taxi putter down the road. She waved out the back window, then turned and left the two of us in the dust. 

“Gerard, I’m scared,” Mikey admitted. It was weird to head him say those words out loud. 

“Me too.” 

We stood on the gravel path, shivering in the cold for longer than I’d intended to. I can’t say how long I’d have stood there if Hayley hadn’t jogged up, sweaty and out of breath, clutching two pieces of paper in her gloved fist. 

“I forgot to hand these to you. They’re your introductory packets. There’s a map of the grounds, your class schedule, your dorm assignment. You might wanna come back inside before you freeze to death. Unless, you know, that’s your _thing_.” The way she said “thing” lifted my spirits a little. There was no malice or discomfort in her voice, only a hint of curiosity. 

“Definitely not,” Mikey grumbled, rubbing his hands together as he brushed past the two of us. We watched him scuffle toward the main house. As per usual when he’s feeling bitchy, one second he was there, the next, he was gone. 

Hayley gasped quietly. She only relaxed when she saw his footprints still pressing into the light ground snow. 

I only knew that because I felt her put up a mental block the moment he disappeared, meaning all of the sudden I was cut off from her thoughts. Not that I was reading them anyway, but people don’t usually know how to do that in the first place. Secondly, why would she do that? What provoked her?  
“Hayley…” I began, not knowing where to lead. Her eyes gave everything away. “What’s going on?”

“God, I hate telepaths,” she said, not tearing her eyes away from Mikey’s foot prints. “I really need to get better at putting up walls. I can’t have you poking around in my head every time you need to know something.”

That hit me, hard. “Oh! Hayley, no, I wasn’t, I only noticed that you—“

“Gerard,” she grabbed me by the shoulders so tightly I could’ve sworn her fingers had turned to stone. It’s possible they did. “I’m not supposed to talk about this to newbies, but you’re bound to figure it out soon enough. I really hate for it to happen to soon, but you should know. Recently—“

“Gee! Hey, Gee!” Frank shouted from down the path. He began to jog toward the two of us, and the look on Hayley’s face told me that was not good.

“Gerard, Frank doesn’t know yet, please don’t mention anything,” she hissed.

“What would I mention? You haven’t told me anything yet!” 

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you!” Frank wheezed as he approached us. Hayley let go of me and waved Mikey’s schedule around. 

“WELL! I’M OFF TO GO FIND MIKEY, DON’T MIND ME! SEE YOU AROUND, GERARD!” Hayley ran off without so much as a glance back. 

Frank sighed and smiled after her. “She’s kinda odd, don’t you think? I like her though.” He wrapped an arm around me and pressed a kiss onto the side of my face. “It’s sorta cold out here, do you maybe want to go inside? Find your room? Or something?” 

I tried to act natural, but I couldn’t keep myself from glancing around nervously, suddenly very uncomfortable being outside. “Or something.” 

~

Frank led me back inside and almost immediately I began to feel better. All of the power coursing through the building made me feel safer and secure. I think Frank could tell something was bothering me, because even with his constant affirmations that “it’s okay to be nervous” and “everything will be so kick-ass”, he looked a little unsure. I tried my best to appear happy, for him. 

Another thing Frank is great for: navigating through this labyrinth of a school. The obvious observation was that the school was huge. But for some reason I didn’t put it together that I’d get lost instantly. Probably because I’m a huge idiot. 

Frank led me up the grand entryway staircase, through several warm and cozy corridors, and even through a few lounges before stopping before a large oak door with silver finishings. He checked my schedule for reassurance before knocking very loudly on the door. I didn’t have time to whisper-shout, _“whatthefuckareyoudoingareyoucrazy—“_ before the door swung open, and a man appeared.

He said, “Frank, come on, you’ve gotta stop bringing random people—“

Frank shut him up before he could get any farther. “Okay first of all, don’t. Don’t talk about that. Not now. Not ever. Secondly, this is your new roommate. All that shit that got deposited here earlier? For the extra bed? Remember?” First of all, I was a little offended he called my things “shit”, but then again… it was pretty much just junk from the bowels of my room.

I alternated looking at Frank and looking at the other guy. For a moment the man in the door just stared at Frank. Then he sighed and turned to me with a smile.

“I was wondering when you'd be showing up!” He held out a hand for me to shake. “My name’s Ray.” Sparks issued from where our hands connected, and it took all my willpower not to call him Thor. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Gerard. I guess we’re… roommates now?”

_Oh my God they were roommates,_ Frank snickered. I sent him an eye roll. 

Ray put his hands in the pockets of his jacket and gestured back into the room. “Yup! Welcome _home_.” Just hearing him call the room “home” made me get all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Frank and I stepped through the threshold. 

Spread out in the room were four distinctly different areas each huddled in their own secluded corner. One was a loft bed with the underside decked with electronics. Wires and little Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and posts, but none of them appeared to be plugged into anything. 

In another corner was a bunk bed sandwiched in between a dresser and desk. The desk was a mess of tissue paper, scribbled on delicately by nice script.

The opposite corner was sectioned off by a white shower curtain covered in (hopefully) fake blood stains pegged to the ceiling. I couldn’t see what was behind it, and quite frankly, I didn’t want to know at any point in my life, ever. 

In the final corner, closest to the door on the left, was a bed on the ground, with nicely fitting sheets, and a desk that half wrapped around one side, as to be accessible by chair or, if need be, just by sitting on the bed. A dresser was imbedded in the walls.

In the center of the room sat a mini-fridge on a lazy-suzan, which was probably the most ingenious invention I’d ever seen in my life. 

“That’s your bed,” Ray motioned to the plain one with the dresser wall. It seemed to be the only one void of personality, which meant I had some work to do. “And I don’t want to overload you with information but if you want I could give you the low-down about the room and its… _inhabitants_.” 

I nodded along as I walked further into the room, exploring with my senses. I could feel different powers emanating from each corner, and it both excited and frightened me. Kinda like when you get yelled at by someone really attractive and you get a fear boner. But not, like, in a weird way. Never mind. 

“Are the rooms co-ed?” I asked out of curiosity. In response, the shower curtain in the corner flung open to reveal what I imagine the physical embodiment of the word “heathen” is. His hair was blond and close-cropped, as close as you could possibly go. He had an unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth, and as he stood from the hammock strung over the mattress on the floor, he flung the porno-mag he was reading. 

“Why? You looking for some pussy?” the man winked. 

I pointed at Frank who was standing a few paces behind me. “He’s my boyfriend. So, no. Not really.” 

The man in the hammock nodded and stuck the cigarette behind his ear. “Cool, man. To make this less awkward—“ he hopped out of the hammock and strode over to me and stuck out a hand. “—I’m Bob. Ever so lovely to meet you.”

“…You too.”

“Just one ground rule,” he said, walking back into his cave that I was intentionally not looking at. “please don’t go into my zone. If you do, I’ll drain you of your powers and dissect you. Good day, sir.” With that, he flung the curtain backhand disappeared from sight. Thank God. 

Ray and I turned back to face each other, simultaneously trying to revamp the horrible conversation. 

“To answer your question, yes, all the dorms are co-ed. That one—“ He pointed to the bunk bed with squares of paper dropping from it like autumn leaves. “—belongs to a girl named Alicia. That, of course, leaves the big messy one to me. As for other ground rules… just don’t be a creep, I guess. Fridge is for everyone, but if you don’t label your food it’s fair game. The bathroom is down the hall to your left, and the closest rec. room and or emergency ramen supply is to the right. Got it?”

I repeated what I could back to him, and it seemed to do the trick.

“Good to go. One final thing—“ Ray lowered his voice. “Just don’t forget to put a sock on the doorknob, ‘kay?” 

So what if it was corny, I blushed like hell and Bob the Butcher only made it worse by wolf-whistling from his slaughter shack. 

“Cool, will do. Or—that’s not what I—thanks for the advice, buddy.” _BUDDY?_

“Gerard, why don’t we go find all your shit, since obviously it’s not in here. That way maybe you can avoid blushing any harder and possibly salvage any hope at having normal relationships with these good folks. Sound good?” Frank interjected. I sent him my best bitch face.

“Hey, if you need a place to start, sometimes the people in the lake house dorms steal people’s stuff to get people to come talk to them. They have mad ragers but other than that no one really goes over there. I’ve heard they’re lonely.” Ray was such a good speaker I began to feel better the instant he started talking. 

“Thanks, we’ll check it out,” I promised, heading toward the door with Frank as Ray wandered back to his cave of little lights. The door was almost shut by the time he got within touching distance, and all the electronics buzzed to life. I still hadn’t seen a single plug. 

~

_Wanna have a steamy make-out sesh in some irate corner of the school instead of going to find your sad, sad underwear?_ Frank offered as we trudged outside in the cold. 

_No. I’m not risking my reputation on my first fucking day here. My mother_ just left _and I’m still within my legally obligated mourning time, so don’t even touch me._

_You’re such a prude._

_Have you considered that you’re only horny and just as sad as my sad, sad underwear?_

Frank laughed out loud and risked taking his hand out of his pocket for one whole second to lock arms with me. It’s the little things. 

As we walked, he pointed out stuff he’d learned about on his tour. Hayley hadn’t bothered to take us outside, which was understandable for a few reasons. One: it was cold as shit. Two: the grounds were massive, and we all would’ve had frostbite by the time we’d covered all of it. Yet Frank didn't mind taking the long route to the lake house in order to show me the “best tree on the whole lot”, and a secret spot in a grove behind the lake where a mini waterfall that only fell about two feet was frozen in place. 

It didn’t bother me one bit. I was almost disappointed by the time we got to the lake house, I was enjoying just being with him so much. It wasn’t like we’d never met in person before. We went to college together before, at our regular human person college. But it had been a while, and I’d gone through a lot. It just felt nice not to worry about much. Except for the fact that I was supposed to be keeping a secret I didn’t even know about yet, and the fact I’d had the worst dream in my life last night, and that I was scared shitless by just about everything and everyone I encountered. 

I froze up for a second as we walked, fearing that maybe Frank had heard all of that, but for the first time in my life, I’d managed to shut myself up. 

_—And just up here is the lake house, not to be confused with the boat house. The boat house is where the boats live, and the lake house—_

_Is where the lakes live._

Frank sighed and pressed a kiss on the hinge of my jaw, since that was the highest up he could reach without me leaning over. He unlatched our arms and took off for the boat house. I hate it when he makes me run. 

As we approached, sweat already freezing and dropping my core temperature to a cozy three degrees, I noticed a suspicious amount of suitcases and duffle bags on the front porch.

“Damn, Ray!” Frank exclaimed, hopping up the steps two at a time. “Hey, look! There’s a note!” He passed it to me.

It said something along the lines of what Ray had already explained to me in our room, so I folded it up and shoved it in my pocket, right next to the transcript of my dream. Frank grabbed the handle of the suitcase, while I shouldered the duffle bag and the backpack. I suppose Mikey had already collected his things, or else they were hidden somewhere worse in the school. 

_Shit._

_What?_ Frank asked. 

_I only just remembered that Mikey goes here too. I should probably go be a good big brother and check on him._

_I feel like I should endorse that because it’s a nice thing to do, but I’m feeling a little selfish today, and I sorta just wanna snuggle by a warm fire._

_Compromise: I’ll go check on him and then I’ll come find you, okay?_

“Fine. As long as we take the short way back. I don’t know what you packed, but it’s not nothing.”

“It’s literally just filled with comic books.”

“…Fuck you.”

Frank and I made our way back through the blustering wind to the main building and slipped through the glass doors of the dining area. For the most part, the room was empty and quiet, aside from a small group of mutants eating at the table nearest the blazing hearth. Hayley, with her blazing orange hair, waved at the two of us from the group. We waved back before trudging onwards through the house and leaving wet footprints on all the carpets and shiny hardwood floors. 

We dropped off my stuff in my dorm and said thank you to Ray a million times over. (Frank did the thanking. I was too busy staring at him lighting up lamps like a magician to get any words out like a functional human being.) Then Frank went off to find a nice place to snuggle, and I was left to meander around until I found my brother. 

Until I had the brilliant idea that instead of searching aimlessly for an unspecified amount of time, I could in fact SPEAK to him. What a revelation. 

_Hey Mikey, where you at?_

_Trying to not activate my fight or flight response while chatting with my new roommates. Not sure any or all qualify as actual human beings._

_I know the feeling. Mind if I drop by?_

_Sure, mom. Any chance you can bring some apple slices and peanut butter?_

_I’m gonna spit in your food._

_So, is that a yes?_

Unwillingly, Mikey directed me to his dorm, which was not all that far from my dorm, although he took me the longest way possible to get there. The day just kept getting better. 

I gently knocked on his door, which was red with gold detailing, and similar enough to my door that it gave me deja vu. From inside was a great clanging of pots and pans or something similar and I almost backed away from he door as it flung itself open. Standing in the doorway was a young man with a nice hat and tired eyes. He smiled weakly and for a single happy second, I didn’t notice. In the back of the room stood two people holding jagged pieces of PVC pipe, obviously dwelling. Each were soaked in blood and shrieking, and only part of the time it was with laughter. Mikey stood in between them, cackling like a madman, announcing their duels as though it were a casual sport. 

I poked him so hard internally that he locked eyes with me, immediately drawn out of the trance. The two duelers noticed the moment they stopped being announced like they were at auction.

“HEYO!” the man shouted, dropping his pipe and raising his arms above his head. “I have regen, remember? You can’t get mad at me if I have regen!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about but it sounds wrong,” I replied. The guy dropped his arms disappointedly and sulked away. The other jouster took that opportunity to throw her pipe at him, and I didn’t see what happened, but I heard a thwack and then he rammed her over. 

Mikey side-stepped the kerfuffle to come talk to me. He passed the person who’d opened the door and smiled kindly. I’d never seen him so gentle around new people. I hoped it was a good sign. 

_Hey, how’re you doing so far?_ I asked.

_Not bad. I thought my roommates would be too weird, but they’re really starting to grow on me. I’d let them introduce themselves, but…_ I looked over his shoulder and found that the two with the PVC pipes were wrestling, and the doorman was struggling to keep them from killing each other.

_I see._

_The guy with the hat who’s trying to mediate is Patrick. I think he’s the impulse control of his regular group of friends, but I don’t think that covers anyone in the room. The chick is Lindsey, and she’s pretty wild._

Lindsey had long black hair strung up in low-hanging pigtails, and I wish I’d had her as a stylist when I was in high school. I could’ve rocked her outfit. Punk meets schoolgirl. Perfect. She hard dark, dangerous eyes that made me freeze like a deer in the headlights whenever she looked at me. In some weird alternate universe, she’s definitely my soulmate. 

_The other one is an idiot named Brendon. And, yeah, as he mentioned he has regenerative abilities, hence why he keeps trying to fight Lindsey. He’s trying to see how much he can heal._

_He’s trying to get himself murdered?_

_Pretty sick, right?_

_I don’t think I’m legally allowed to be endorsing this._

_Don’t go all dad-mode on me. I know you think they’re all pretty neat, and I know you’re comparing him to Deadpool right now, and I beg of you, don’t. I made that mistake and he just shut up about it._

“Hey, you two!” Brendon shouted from where he was sitting the the time out corner. “Are you two just gonna stare at each other or are you actually gonna talk? Kinda creeping me out.” 

_Sorry,_ I boomed within his head. He flinched. _**Is this better?**_

I turned back to Mikey. _Did you find all of your stuff okay? Mine was at the lake house for some reason._

_Yup, mine was in the kitchen. Some asshole put it there. Patrick knows him, apparently. Whatever. I’m just glad I’m not roomed with psychopaths._

_No need for the thigh holster of mace?_

Mikey shoved me lightly, playing down his grin. _Fuck off._

_Whatever. If you’re fine here, I have a boyfriend to return to, so I’ll see you later. Just shout if you need me, but I doubt you will. You’re a big boy now, Mikey. Let me know when I need to give you The Talk, okay?_

_You’re in my house now, you don’t get to talk down to me like that anymore. Begone, thot._ Mikey pushed me out of the room and slammed the door. I leaned against the wall to support myself as I nursed my laughter-induced side stitch. All of the sudden the door opened again, and Mikey, pulling on a heavy overcoat, stepped into the hallway. 

“Taking a sharp left here, I was wondering if I could talk to you. About… some stuff,” he said, tugging at the strings from his hood. 

“Yeah, of course. Wanna explore while we talk?” I asked, trying not to delay myself any more than I already had. 

Mikey ground his teeth. “I think it’s more of a face-to-face talk.”

“Oh.” That was new. “Totally, let's just go find some place to talk, okay?” I let him lead me down the hallway.

We walked side by side in relative silence, neither of us sure who was leading who. Eventually we stopped in the lounge by the mess hall on the first floor, an empty room leather furniture and a cold, empty hearth. I took a seat on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table, waiting anxiously for him to join me, but he refused to. 

Mikey stood on the other side of the room, keeping his hands to himself as he nervously looked around. Everything I could see told me he was uncomfortable, and the longer the silence held, the more anxious he got. (I really didn’t mean to dig around in his brain, I was just worried about him.)

“What was it you wanted to talk to me about? I’m no empath, but the vibes you’re giving off—“

“I’m really confused.”

“About what? I mean, aside from all the fuckery that I just brought down on you. I’m confused about that too,” I replied.

Mikey smiled sympathetically. “Yeah, believe me, that was no help. But I feel like now that we’re here with little to no oversight, and since we kinda just showed up, I need people. And… you’re people. I just mean, like, I can’t exclude myself. I can’t—“ His brain was looping around and around, flying in circles. I had to intervene. 

“Mikey,” I began, standing up and walking slowly over to him. “I’m your brother, I’ll always be here for you.”

“I _know_ , but everything is so weird! I just— I’ve had these powers for sixth months, and since then, everything I thought I knew about myself is coming into question, and I really don’t like not knowing. I’m really fucking scared of this place, and I can tell there’s stuff you’re not telling me about it, and before you even ask, no, I don’t want to leave. It just has the worst timing, you know? All of the sudden I’m a mutant and I have super powers, and ta-da! I go to a magical school, and to top it all off, I think I might be—“

“Gerard! What the fuck man, you just took off!” Frank stood at the opposite side of the room, leaning against the door frame. 

_Not a good time_ , I said to him. _I’ll come find you later._

_No, wait_ , Mikey said, suddenly inviting himself into the conversation. I didn’t know he could do that. _It’s fine. I’m fine._

I watched him turn his back to Frank and wipe his eyes on his sleeve. Frank hesitated nervously in the doorway, awaiting my decision. I didn’t want Mikey to think I was babying him, but at the same time, I sorta had to. Reluctantly, I nodded Frank in. 

Frank walked past me and over to Mikey, which kind of seemed like petting a hurt and frightened dog, but I didn’t try to stop him. 

“Hey, man,” Frank said. “We never really got introduced. I’m Frank Iero.”

Mikey shook his hand. “Mikey.” Before Mikey could get away from the bubbling cauldron of energy that is my boyfriend, Frank wrapped an arm around Mikey’s shoulders. Their height difference was so considerable that it gave Mikey the effect he was wearing a fifty pound back pack on his back. 

“Since it’s your first day here, and classes will shortly resume, I figured the two of you should get a thorough tour. The house is nice and all, but you should see the grounds,” he exclaimed. I wasn’t sure if he was deliberately trying to get on Mikey’s nerves, but intentional or not, he was doing a great job.

“A few things, Frank: One, it’s cold as shit outside. Two, we’re not technically supposed to be outside. Three—“ Mikey started.

“A few things, right back at you: One, I don’t care. Two, I really don’t care. Three, you haven’t seen the grounds yet, and I bet they’d cheer anybody up. It’s a winter wonderland out there!” 

I raised my eyebrows at him. 

_Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you don’t want me to bond with your little brother. Aside from how greasy he is—_

_It runs in the family._

_I can tell. Aside from how greasy he is, he seems cool. I intentionally didn’t say nice, because I didn’t think you’d believe me._

I smiled at him, and since Mikey was very much excluded from this chat, it all probably seemed very weird and gay to him. Most things in my life are. 

_Fine._ I spoke up.

“Not to be a rebel or anything, but I’d like to go outside and explore. This castle is too daunting for today,” I sighed, reaching out for the wall. The moment my fingers made contact I felt a familiar jolt of power rush through me like static electricity. I smiled to myself.

“Not a bad plan,” Frank agreed, sacrificing the warmth of his pocket in order to take my hand. The two of us turned to Mikey.

“Coming?” I asked.

“Only to see if there’s enough snow to attack you with. If it’s not worth it I’m going back inside. I’m not about to freeze my ass off for no good reason when there are several hearty rich-person fireplaces to relax in front of.”

I mean, he had a point. That being so, Frank and I ducked aside for him to lead the way. He chose a thin path along the crest of a hill on the east side of the property, near the frosty soccer field. He found a ball cemented to a goal post and spent quite a while trying to pry the two apart. Even I laughed at him after a while. 

He turned to the two of us with murder in his eyes. “What, no laser vision to separate them? That’s a shame.” 

An icy wind blew across the hill, ruffling the bare trees as well as chilling the three of us. Maybe that’s what prompted Frank’s response. I must’ve missed the cue to turn the conversation into a pissing contest, or maybe I’m just not fragile enough. 

“Oh, yeah? Since when is telepathy not enough?”

Mikey shrugged. “I never said that. I just figured… I dunno. Never mind.” 

Frank put his hands on his hips. “What do you do, then?”

I watched as another gust of frosty wind bounded over the hills, and in the blink of an eye, Mikey disappeared with the wind. Frank turned around to gawk at me, eyes dancing around as he tried to collect his bearings. Before he ever had a chance, a ball of ice and dirt came sailing down and slam dunked down the back of his shirt. 

I howled with laughter, almost as loud as the wind, as he skip-hopped around, trying to get the wetness off of him. We locked eyes, and I could nearly see the anger steaming off of him. Naturally, Mikey reappeared a few feet behind us, leaning cockily against a goal post. I could hear Frank hoping he got stuck to it. 

“Invisibility? That’s original,” Frank spat. My brotherly instincts told me this was the time to interject before things got too out of hand, but the asshole part of my brain (all courtesy of Frank, obviously) told me to take a moment to see where this led to. 

“You know, the professor was talking to me about how mutants with more and more complex powers were being born, essentially saying that we as a species are getting stronger. I guess I’m just disappointed,“ Frank mused. 

“They just don’t make them like they used to,” Mikey hissed defensively. 

“That also means,” Frank continued, “that the more powerful genes, the kind that breed stronger mutants are more common—“

“I’m sorry to hear they ran out of ideas. Better luck next time.”

“—And seeing that lovely Gerard here isn’t the only telepath in our year, and you and your invisibility are all alone in the big scary world, Mikey, so let me just tell you this now. I’m not scared of you.” 

I took half a step back, glaring at the back of Frank’s head. Before I could scold like our mother did, Mikey decided to keep talking. A bad decision, overall. 

“Well, you know what they say. Opposites attract. Sorry to hear you’ve been doomed from the start.”

“Woah, hey now, what the fuck—“ I tried my best. I really did. Frank was quicker on his feet than I was.

“I’m sorry, are you trying to be some poetic homophobe or something? I’m sure I didn’t—“ Frank could’ve stopped there and he would’ve done enough damage. I tuned him out the moment I saw Mikey pale. For once, I knew it wasn’t the weather. 

Mikey lowered his gaze and let Frank’s words glaze right over him, and eventually, he just kicked some snow and walked away. I didn’t know how I’d let it get so out of hand so quickly, but by then Mikey was a black spot in the distant field of white, and Frank was still grumbling next to me. 

“Gerard, I hate to say this, but your brother’s a bitch.”

“Takes one to know one,” I sighed, locking arms with him, and heading toward a different entrance to the school. As we walked, I sent a nudge at Mikey’s mind, but I didn’t get a response. Not that I actually expected one from him. 

_Sorry._ Frank didn’t sound sorry, but it meant a lot to me that he said it. 

_The Way’s know how to pick fights, so believe me when I say that I’ve started enough shit myself to not hold a grudge about this._

_Does this mean I’m finally going to get some time to put your head on my chest and fall asleep as I play with your hair?_

Not gonna lie, the mental picture of that made me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. And I think he knew it, because he squeezed my hand a little when I didn’t respond. 

_Mikey will want some space. Sure, I’ve got some free time on my hands. It might be a good time to unpack as well._

_Sounds like a plan._

I smiled broadly, finally feeling a sense of peace in this place. I walked with him, meandering across the landscape as light snow started the pepper on top of the older, grayer snow. 

_Stop._

_What?_ he asked, looking over his shoulders. 

I reminded myself he’d never forgive me for being this cheesy, but the gain outweighed the risks. I reached up and cupped his cold face with my hands. And I leaned down until his cold nose pressed into my cheek and I could feel the warmth of his mouth against mine. He knotted his fingers in my hair and brought our foreheads together. My face had been cold a moment ago, but now it was hot from how hard I was blushing. But it was all worth it to see him try to suppress a grin at how sappy I was being. 

He kissed me again, before breaking out into a fit of giggles and turning back down the path. 

“I just had a verbal fisticuffing with your brother and now we’re making out in front of our school. What’s next?” 

“You’ll see,” I teased as we climbed the front steps of the mansion.


End file.
